No. 29 – Indianapolis Colts | |||||||||||
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Position: | Cornerback | ||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||
Born: | Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. | January 18, 2000||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||
Weight: | 198 lb (90 kg) | ||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||
High school: | Warren Central (Indianapolis, Indiana) | ||||||||||
College: |
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NFL draft: | 2023 / Round: 2 / Pick: 44 | ||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
Career NFL statistics as of 2023 | |||||||||||
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Player stats at PFR |
Julius "JuJu" Brents (born January 18, 2000) is an American football cornerback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Iowa and Kansas State.
JuJu Brents attended Warren Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana. A rangy defensive back, Brents played only three games of the 2016 season due to injury. [1]
On September 1, 2017, Brents committed to the University of Iowa to play college football. [2] Brents was ranked as the 33rd best safety (football) in the country and the number 401 prospect overall by 247Sports.com at the time of the signing of his letter of intent to play for Iowa. [2] The 6'2" Brents was a highly recruited college prospect, declining scholarship offers from Michigan State, Indiana, Cincinnati, and Louisville, among others. [2]
Brents made it back from his junior year injury to start the first game of the 2017 season, his senior year, during which he logged 11 tackles in action against one of Indiana's top-ranked schools. [3] The following week, Brents recorded his first interception of the year in game action against Pike High School of Indianapolis. [3] Brents would finish the season strong, culminating in selection to the 2017 Central Indiana Super Team named by the Indianapolis Star. [4]
Brents made his way to Iowa City in the summer of 2018 to begin pre-season practice with the Hawkeyes. The true freshman was quick to impress, emerging as the number 3 cornerback on the team's depth chart by the end of August. [5] Brents was listed as the reserve left cornerback and as slated to play as the so-called "nickelback" in five defensive back sets. [6]
Brents was thrust into the limelight in the Hawkeyes' fourth game of the season, a loss to Wisconsin, when starting corner Matt Hankins was forced out of the game with an injury. [7] He made the first start of his career the on October 6 against Minnesota, a wild coming-out party in which he contributed his first interception, two pass break-ups, and made three tackles in an exciting 48–31 victory. [8] Brents made a total of five starts as a freshman, gaining accolades before being himself forced from action due to minor "tweak" injuries down the stretch. [9]
Brents' 2019 sophomore season did not begin auspiciously when a preseason knee injury forced him to miss Iowa's opener [10] and the next three games. [11] He would see only limited play at the safety position in the team's fifth game, a 10–3 loss to Michigan. [11]
The knee injury continue to keep him hobbled, however, [12] and he wound up receiving a red shirt for the season.
One saving grace, Brents later recalled, was that he shared extensive time in rehabilitation with Hawkeyes' defensive coordinator Phil Parker, who was himself recovering from knee surgery. [13] "I gained a lot of knowledge from him, from his viewpoint, how he sees things," Brents noted. "It's helped me to see a lot of things differently, especially on the field." [13] Chiefly among these lessons imparted was the value of film study. "The game really does just slow down when you sit down and study," Brents said. "My freshman year, maybe I was playing more on my athleticism." [13]
Brents' redshirt sophomore season proved to be a bitter disappointment. Sidelined for almost the whole of the previous year, Brents found it hard to crack Iowa's starting defensive backfield, winding up relegated to special teams and spot reserve work in the defensive backfield, fifth on the cornerback depth chart. [14]
In December 2020, Brents entered the transfer portal, announcing in January 2021 his intention to play for Kansas State University. [15]
Over the course of his career at Iowa, Brents wound up playing in 18 games — five of which he started — recording 17 tackles and one interception. [14]
Brents arrived at Manhattan, Kansas early in 2021 and made an immediate impression at Kansas State University during spring football practice. K-State defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman was most enthusiastic, proclaiming Brents to have been "outstanding" and calling him "dominant" and an "alpha-male type athlete." [16] "He's learned what we're doing, he's transitioned well into what we're doing," Klanderman declared, adding "he's not a guy that just does it right, but can make the play and finish when he gets the opportunity. He's going to be a good one." [16]
In two years at Kansas State, JuJu Brents started 27 games and recorded 94 tackles and five interceptions. He was named as an first-team All-Big 12 player as a senior in 2022. [17]
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | ||
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6 ft 2+3⁄4 in (1.90 m) | 198 lb (90 kg) | 34 in (0.86 m) | 9+5⁄8 in (0.24 m) | 4.53 s | 1.57 s | 2.57 s | 4.05 s | 6.63 s | 41.5 in (1.05 m) | 11 ft 6 in (3.51 m) | ||
All values from the NFL Combine [18] [19] |
After trading back with both the Las Vegas Raiders and the Atlanta Falcons to collect two additional late round picks, Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard selected Brents in the second round of the 2023 NFL draft, using the 44th overall pick. [17]
He played in nine games with eight starts, recording 43 tackles, one forced fumble, and six passes defensed. [20]
Tajuan Edward "Ty" Law is a former American football cornerback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football at the University of Michigan and was selected by the Patriots in the first round of the 1995 NFL draft. During his 10 seasons in New England, he received four Pro Bowl selections and two first-team All-Pro honors. A three-time Super Bowl winner with the Patriots, Law also holds the franchise record for interceptions. Law spent his final five seasons as a member of the New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, and Denver Broncos, earning a fifth Pro Bowl selection with the Jets. Ranking 24th in NFL career interceptions, he twice led the league in interceptions during the 1998 and 2005 seasons. He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2019.
Kirk James Ferentz is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at the University of Iowa, a position he has held since the 1999 season. From 1990 to 1992, Ferentz was the head football coach at the University of Maine. He was also an assistant coach with the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). Ferentz played college football as a linebacker at the University of Connecticut from 1974 to 1976. Since 2017, he has been the longest tenured FBS coach with one program. Ferentz is the all-time wins leader at Iowa.
Dallas Dean Clark is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily for the Indianapolis Colts. He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes, earning unanimous All-American honors and recognition as the top college tight end in the nation. He was selected by Indianapolis in the first round of the 2003 NFL draft and he was a member of their Super Bowl XLI championship team against the Chicago Bears. He also played in the NFL for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Baltimore Ravens.
Edward Joseph Podolak is a former professional American football player, a running back for nine seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL).
Warren Central High School, also known as Warren, WC, or WCHS, is a public high school located in Warren Township on the far east side of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the only high school in Warren Township with an enrollment of 3,736 students, in grades 9-12, as of the 2016-2017 school year. Warren Central is known as "The Pride of the Eastside". Its school colors are Black and Vegas Gold and the nickname is the Warriors. The school fight song is Rah, Rah For Warren. The original Warren Central opened on January 12, 1925, at the corner of 10th Street and Post Road on the far east side of Indianapolis. It was a consolidation of the Cumberland and Shadeland schools which both had high schools that were too small for the growing township population. Warren Central was built to house grades 7 to 12 and to give the students a city quality education in a farm community. By the late 1950s, the population of Warren Township had once again outgrown its high school and, on September 6, 1960, a new Warren Central opened at its present location off of 9500 East 16th Street. In 1976, the Walker Career Center opened on the property of the high school.
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